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We spoke with Katherine Agong, a researcher in the Faculty of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of West Indies, who was recently appointed as the transportation expert on the National Planning Authority board. We talked about getting around Port of Spain, her research in travel behaviour and the issues with first-mile/last-mile transportation, and her interest in active travel and expanding access to public transport for all in Trinidad & Tobago.
Katherine Agong (KA): Hello, I am Katherine Agong. I solve traffic and transport problems and have been doing so for over 21 years. I am currently a researcher and assist lecturers in the Faculty of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of West Indies, St Augustine Campus. I help deliver courses and assist other lecturers while working on my PhD in Transport Planning and Engineering. I also have a private consultancy offering traffic and transport solutions for significant events such as Carnival and Arts Festivals.
I became interested in solving traffic problems as a response to the anxiety of being late for school as a child. When I was around 6-8 years old, I went to a private school in Port of Spain, far from where I lived. On my way to school, we always got stuck in traffic. There was a part of the journey to school where we had to go up a little hill to get to the highway; I would hold my breath and think, "Oh, my gosh!" looking down at all the traffic. Being young, I was worried about the negative attention I would receive for being late for school. I thought there must be a way of solving these traffic problems so that I wouldn't get in trouble for arriving at school late. Arriving late is a worry that all commuters still have today….decades after I first had that thought.
The population of Trinidad and Tobago is about 1.45 million people, and there are about 1.5 million registered vehicles.
KA: Port of Spain is the capital city of Trinidad and Tobago. It was formally planned and designed to follow a grid pattern and is surrounded by smaller towns, which form the Greater Port of Spain region. About 42% of commutes to work are going to Port of Spain in the mornings. People living outside of the city from all over the country are travelling to Port of Spain (Downtown or Greater Port of Spain). Getting around the city is done by three main modes of transport: walking, private car, and shared taxis. The reliability of these options depends on whether you are in Downtown or Greater Port of Spain.
WALKING:
If you are a pedestrian, the experience is average to poor. There are numerous trip hazards along the pavements and places with inconsistent curb heights. So, if you have a mobility impairment and have to use a wheelchair, or walking stick, or are pushing a stroller - it is sometimes tricky. A few places are trying to improve the walking experience; in Woodbrook, which is in Greater Port of Spain, the government has introduced pedestrian crossings and tactile paving with drop curves, which is a fantastic step in the right direction. Apart from that small project in Woodbrook, I have not seen any significant and well-targeted investments for pedestrian infrastructure in Port of Spain, even less for cyclists.
DRIVING:
The population of Trinidad and Tobago is about 1.45 million people, and there are about 1.5 million registered vehicles. Of course, some may not operate regularly because they are industrial or old and parked in a driveway. But still, it's a lot of motor vehicles for a country with our size. If you drive in a taxi or private car, most of your time is spent in congestion, even outside rush hour. The journey times are long compared to the actual distance travelled.
Based on research I did with a UWI Transport Planning team in 2019-2020 on travel behaviour and transportation, the mode share along the east-west corridor in Trinidad for private cars is very high, about 55%. Because of this transportation system bias, people rely on taxis to go from Downtown to Greater Port of Spain. These taxis are private businesses unrelated to the state. If a driver does not want to work today, he will not. If he decides it is time for lunch, then it is lunchtime. So, people often get stranded in Port of Spain, mainly due to adverse weather and flooding.
THE FIRST MILE/LAST MILE PROBLEM:
The other issue in Port of Spain is the first and last-mile problem. The first mile is a technical term that is not necessarily a mile but simply the first leg of a journey. It is usually done by walking; for example, my first mile is from my house to the bus stop, but for many people, their first mile might be three miles of walking along a road with no pavements in the dark to get to the main public transport route. Some people live where there is no first-mile motorised public transport at all. There is a great need for transportation planning to solve and manage the first/last mile problem, but it is very often overlooked. Our land use planning has resulted in many living more than a mile from the main transit corridors. Solutions can facilitate access to the main modes of public transport
KA: Regardless of gender or age, the transportation system is full of inconveniences, and we have data from the University of the West Indies (UWI) to back that up. Convenience and reliability were the two factors that most influence daily transportation choices. The other thing that came out of this research is that women, because of their parenting/ caring responsibilities, are more challenged by transportation than men (that can be caring for children or other adults). For example, I have last-mile issues taking my children to school. First, I need better pedestrian infrastructure along a heavily trafficked road where vehicles are speeding. Second, my daughter has disabilities, so even though we can get a taxi straight to her bus route, neither buses nor taxis are equipped for those with physical or intellectual disabilities. Although some buses provide facilities for wheelchairs, many persons with disabilities can't take these modes because the first part of their journey is not wheelchair accessible. Maxis are not step-free and do not have a ramp alternative. So it is challenging for my daughter because she cannot easily access these public transport vehicles.
The other thing that would improve the comfort of using public transport for the elderly and people with disabilities, or anyone for that matter, is having places where they can wait in safety and comfort for whatever mode of transportation.
KA: I assume the people responsible for buying public buses are probably men of a certain age who never had to think about accessibility and did so without doing the necessary market research or public consultations. I want to know what those procurement considerations are; from my (un-researched) observation and experience, planning for transport for people with disabilities has some gaps that could be closed.
MAINTENANCE OF BUSES AND APPROPRIATE ON BOARD FACILITIES:
Without functional buzzers, how would a non-verbal person tell a bus driver to stop? Many people take the bus to shop, but there is no space to put their shopping and no place for a stroller. The needs of women, the elderly, persons with disabilities, or people travelling with children have not been considered. How we procure public transport vehicles needs to be looked at with an eye toward inclusivity.
LIVE TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION:
It would be helpful if I go onto a website or call a number to pay for transportation tickets to get around Trinidad; I'd like to see what buses are available, the schedule, and all the relevant details. The PTSC website shows a schedule, but it does not say when it gets to a bus stop on a route. We need more detailed scheduling and time-table information sharing so that people can better plan their journeys.
DIGITAL PAYMENT METHODS:
We also need to improve how we pay for tickets by having more options that match people's lifestyles today. We have to buy a paper bus ticket or use cash for the maxi taxi or the taxi; with an upsurge in violent crime, a cashless alternative would be safer and more convenient.
DIGNIFIED WAITING AREAS:
The other thing that would improve the comfort of using public transport for the elderly and people with disabilities, or anyone for that matter, is having places where they can wait in safety and comfort for whatever mode of transportation. I call it a place because it's not only a bus stop but a place of value for passengers to wait but also embark and disembark, where they can get information or purchase a ticket, a place where they can seek shelter, and a place where they can socialise with other people as well. This infrastructure is crucial in encouraging people to occasionally use public transport instead of private cars.
1967 was the last time a transportation plan was adopted in Trinidad and Tobago
KA: Transportation decisions for Port of Spain are made in a siloed and ad hoc environment; from policy and planning to implementation, there is no set structure because we do not have transport planning departments at a local or national level. It is a process where various government institutions make decisions with very little coordination with each other. As a result, our formal transport policies (local or national) perpetuate our current ad-hoc treatment of traffic and transportation issues.
An announcement was made a few months ago that the bus company would purchase 250 new electric buses. I know that aligns with national and international policies on climate change. But what transport policy is that in alignment with? Several countries are having problems with electric buses, citing that they cannot sustain the range of travel that these suppliers say they can, causing them to shut down mid-trip. Transport policies need to guide issues around procurement to avoid importing an electric bus that is still not fully wheelchair accessible for caregivers, the elderly, or those with disabilities.
1967 was the last time a transportation plan was adopted in Trinidad and Tobago - there have been several attempts since then. In 2018, I worked for the government as a Senior Transportation Planner and led a team that put together the terms of reference for a national transportation plan. It was only late last year that I heard it was put out to tender, which I am thrilled to hear. It's been referred to in the 2020 manifesto, but we will wait and see what happens.
Why has this not been a political priority when transportation impacts everyone's life and the economy?
KA: The main problem is a capacity and expertise issue; we need people among the government employees whose primary responsibility is to develop and continually adjust a transportation strategy. Our politicians know the importance of transportation planning; however, a structure for the governance of the transportation system as a whole has yet to be devised.
The current Minister of Works and Transport does not have a background in transportation; he was a businessman before entering politics. I believe that it is not fair to expect a fish to be able to climb up a tree….to me, this describes the current state of Trinidad as it relates to Transportation Planning. So we need to take some time to build capability.
The second issue is political; transportation is not a problem people are making loud enough noise about. While you might hear private complaints about traffic on social media, it rarely extends politically by writing to a counsellor or member of parliament to say this is an issue that needs to be solved. There needs to be more awareness and education that these problems can be investigated and solved by Transportation Planners and Transportation Engineers. We need to realise it is something to be advocated for.
In many sectors of society, having a car means you are more valuable as a human being, which is wrong. I have been told that "Taking public transportation is a backward step" as though it is regressing your life.
KA: There is an artificial affordability of cars in Trinidad; when the government removed some of the fuel subsidies in the budget last year, we all started paying more for fuel at the pumps. Our fuel costs are still low, with a litre of super fuel costing $6 TT (less than USD 1); diesel is cheaper at $4 TT (about 57 cents US) per litre. However, many are feeling the burn and are looking for alternatives: hybrids, fully electric, some people have compressed natural gas (CNG), but all these options cost a lot to install or import.
But this fake affordability is still being pushed by car dealerships and financial institutions. I saw a bank put two new cars in front of their building and had loan officers in front of the cars trying to get people walking past to sign up for car loans. I saw an ad online where they have now resorted to advertising the cost of purchasing a vehicle in weekly instalments! So rather than say it's $5,000 a month (more than many salaries), it's a thousand dollars a week. Financial institutions are moving from five-year to ten-year repayment periods for new and used car loans! These institutional practices obscure the actual cost of car ownership.
The planning policy in Trinidad and Tobago perpetuates this need to allocate space for parking. So, off-street parking is still mandated even if on-street parking is available.
SPACE ALLOCATION:
Most of the time, vehicles are not being used; they are parked. That is why we must look at how best we use space and find the best use for the curb. Our curbs are dominated by parking, but is that the best use? Should we use it for vending, should we use it for movement, should we use it more for socialising?
The planning policy in Trinidad and Tobago perpetuates this need to allocate space for parking. So, off-street parking is still mandated even if on-street parking is available. As an example, City Gate is the transit hub in downtown Port of Spain. According to the planning policy, If I were to put a residential development right next to it, I would still have to provide parking; it's ridiculous! That [parking requirement] is a blanket policy and applies anywhere regardless of context.
KA: For Port of Spain, I want to work towards active travel, walking in the short term and cycling in the longer term. I want to see more people moving about in the street to demonstrate to the business community that the more pedestrians they have, the better it is for their pockets. The Downtown Business Merchants Association is arguing that they need more parking. And they have been influenced by the American planning tradition where massive box store developments are everywhere. But while those American cities have the space for that, we certainly do not.
We can capitalise on walking and cycling for public health gains. In Trinidad and Tobago, we have a serious problem with non-communicable diseases like high blood pressure and diabetes. It is an emerging area of research, and the overlap between transport and health is something I am interested in as well.
For people for whom walking and cycling is not feasible, I would like to see more state-run bus services through the city into the Greater Port of Spain area. A public transportation network that covers Downtown and Greater Port of Spain. The planning authorities have a vision for getting people to live in Port of Spain again, so accessible public transport has to support that vision.
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This article was made possible by generous support from the Open Society Foundations.
